Connections Academy, a for-profit corporate provider of online school products and services to virtual schools for grades K-12, including full-time online schools with the name Connections Academy, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and International Connections Academy for students residing abroad. Based in

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with ...

, Connections Academy is part of Pearson's Online and Blended Learning K-12 group. Online schools are an alternative to traditional public schools. Similar to charter schools, they are subsidized by the State. Although they contract with many non-profit schools, they are a for-profit corporation.

History

In the spring of 2001, Sylvan Ventures started a separate business unit to create a virtual school program with its first virtual schools in Wisconsin and Colorado. The company first began providing online school services to two schools in the fall of 2002. In September 2004, Connections Academy was sold to an investor group led by Apollo Management, L.P. The company now operates public schools under management contracts from charter schools or school districts. A new corporate entity called Connections Education was established in early 2011. In this same year, on September 15, 2011,

Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...

, an international learning company, acquired Connections Education for more than $400 million.Connections Academy
retrieved 2012-08-01 Connections Education is currently Pearson's Online & Blended Learning division, which delivers the Connections Academy online public school program and other online learning services called Pearson Connexus to educational institutions and other organizations nationwide. A private online school called International Connections Academy serves students across the globe. In 2019 it was announced that UK-based Harrow school would deliver an online education option leveraging Pearson Connexus.

Notable alumni

* Ashley Argota, actress and singer *

Kiri Baga Kiri Nicole Baga (born April 15, 1995) is an American former figure skater. She won two gold medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series and placed 7th at the 2010 World Junior Championships. She is the 2010 U.S. junior pewter medalist and 2009 ...

, figure skater, Minnesota Connections Academy *

Karen Chen Karen Chen (born August 16, 1999) is an American figure skater. She is a 2022 Olympic Games team event silver medalist, two-time CS U.S. Classic bronze medalist (2016, 2017), the 2015 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist, the 2017 U.S. nat ...

, figure skater *

Nathan Chen Nathan Chen (born May 5, 1999) is an American figure skater. He is the 2022 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion ( 2018, 2019, 2021), the 2017 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final champion ( 2017, 2018, 2019), a ...

, figure skater, California Connections Academy * Ria Cheruvu, child prodigy, Arizona Connections Academy *

Eugenia Cooney Eugenia Sullivan Cooney (born July 27, 1994) is an American YouTuber and Internet personality. She was born in Massachusetts and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut and Los Angeles, California. She initially began livestreaming on broadcasting se ...

, internet personality *

Grace McCallum Grace Ann McCallum (born October 30, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team event. She is the 2018 Pan American and 2018 Pacific Rim individual a ...

, artistic gymnast *

Mirai Nagasu is an American figure skater. She is a 2018 Olympic Games team event bronze medalist, three-time Four Continents medalist (silver in 2016, bronze in 2011 and 2017), the 2007 JGP Final champion, a two-time World Junior medalist (silver in 2007 ...

, figure skater, Capistrano Connections Academy *

Eric Sjoberg Eric Sjoberg (born August 22, 2001) is an American figure skater. He is the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic bronze medalist and 2020 U.S. national junior silver medalist. Personal life Sjoberg Graduated from the Capistrano Connec ...

, figure skater, Capistrano Connections Academy *

Vincent Zhou Vincent Zhou (born October 25, 2000) is an American figure skater. He is a 2022 Olympic Games team event silver medalist, a two-time World bronze medalist (2019, 2022), the 2019 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champ ...

, figure skater, Capistrano Connections Academy

Notable staff

* Cheron Brylski, speechwriter, helped establish Louisiana Connections Academy * Casey J, gospel singer, elementary school math teacher at Georgia Connections Academy *

Frank Riggs Frank Duncan Riggs (born September 5, 1950) is an American army veteran, former law enforcement officer, charter school executive, and politician from the states of California and Arizona. Early life Frank Riggs was born in Louisville, Kentucky. ...

, politician, founding board president at Arizona Connections Academy * Matt Wingard, politician, spokesman for Oregon Connections Academy

References

External links

AdvancED Accreditation Commission
{{Authority control Education companies established in 2001 Online K–12 schools Companies based in Columbia, Maryland Curricula Education companies of the United States American educational websites 2001 establishments in the United States 2004 mergers and acquisitions 2011 mergers and acquisitions